This file photo shows vehicles at a Tesla location in Littleton, Colo. Tesla delivered 201,250 vehicles in the second quarter, an improvement over first-quarter figures but below the expectations of Wall Street analysts. Tesla and other automakers have been hampered by a global shortage of computer chips. (AP-Yonhap)
Tesla, Apple and AMC Entertainment were the most-bought foreign stocks among South Koreans in the first half of the year, data showed Monday.
US electric vehicle maker Tesla drew buy orders of $9.6 billion from Korea-domiciled investors during the January-June period, topping the list of the most actively traded foreign stocks, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. The same stocks worth $7.9 billion were sold by Korean traders over the cited period.
Korean investors‘ penchant for the California-based company continued despite its price volatility during the first half, partly due to the impact from investors’ broader sell-off of high-growth stocks and concerns surrounding its business in China. As of end-June, Tesla shares closed at $679.70 apiece, down nearly 7 percent over the course of the six months.
Tesla was followed by electronic device maker Apple, as Koreans bought $3.2 billion in Apple shares in the first half.
Koreans’ top buys also include tech-heavy leveraged exchange-traded fund Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X, theater chain AMC Entertainment and Churchill Capital IV, a special purpose acquisition company that announced a merger plan with electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors.
All five securities are listed in the United States. Among non-US stock market-listed stocks, Z Holdings, a joint venture of Yahoo and SoftBank that is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, was the most bought among Koreans.
The Korea Securities Depository data also indicated that Korean investors ordered the purchase of foreign stocks worth $110.8 billion during the first half, with sales of $96.9 billion. The size of orders rose threefold compared to the previous year.
By country, the US stock market was the top destination for Korean investors, as Koreans bought $103.4 billion of US-listed stocks, accounting for over 93 percent of the total. The US was followed by Hong Kong, China and Japan.
By Son Ji-hyoung (
consnow@heraldcorp.com)